Restoring files on Isilon storage cluster - Warehouse and Student Storage (H:)

Introduction

Sometimes, files are mistakenly deleted from a network drive. To resolve this, Windows has an integrated feature to allow restoring files saved to a recent previous version of that network drive. This article will cover how to use previous version, and what to do for recovery of files that have been deleted from your network drive.

 

Procedure

  1. Open the folder that contained the files you wish to restore.
     
  2. Right-click any open area in the window, and select "Properties" from the context menu.

File explorer interface with a context menu and "Properties" highlighted.

  1. Select the "Previous Versions" tab in the "Properties" dialog.

A properties window for Drive Z showing storage usage details.


 

  1. Select the Previous Version corresponding to a time before the time the file you wish to restore was lost.

Windows dialog box showing a list of previous folder versions with timestamps from June 15, 2026.

  1. To restore a file, there are two options given:
    • Open: this will open another file explorer window with the contents of the directory at the time of the snapshot you selected. Note that the file system path will have the snapshot time appended to it. This may help distinguish the live files from the snapshot data. You can then drag the file(s) you need to restore to a location of your choosing, just like when you transfer/move any other files in Windows.
    • Restore: this will overwrite the current folder with the snapshot directory.
*NOTE: only use the restore option if you're absolutely sure that this is OK with the other users of your network drive. All changes made since the snapshot will be deleted.*

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